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160-502: In French, the term oriflamme has come to mean any banner with pointed ends by association with the form of the original. The Oriflamme was mentioned in the 11th-century ballad the Chanson de Roland (vv. 3093–5) as a royal banner, first called Romaine and then Montjoie . According to legend, Charlemagne carried it to the Holy Land in response to a prophecy regarding a knight possessing

320-567: A "suicide mission". Other modern sources maintain that other than the Captal de Buch's small force all of the Anglo-Gascons remained dismounted. The sight of the Captal de Buch and his men making for the rear further disheartened the Anglo-Gascons, who believed that they were fearfully escaping an inevitable defeat. Some men fled. Concerned his army would break and rout in the face of the French assault,

480-481: A day's notice. They advanced slowly, to facilitate their tasks of looting and destruction. The modern historian David Green describes the progress of the Black Prince's army as "deliberately destructive, extremely brutal   ... methodical and sophisticated." Several strong castles were assaulted and captured. The populaces of most towns fled, or surrendered at the first sight of Anglo-Gascon troops. Overall, there

640-545: A few more fights, Roland succumbs to his wounds and dies a martyr's death. Angels lift his soul to Paradise. When Charlemagne and his men reach the battlefield, they find the slaughtered bodies of Roland and his men. They pursue the Muslims into the river Ebro , where the Muslims drown. Meanwhile, Baligant , the powerful emir of Babylon, has arrived in Spain to help Marsile. His army encounters that of Charlemagne at Roncesvalles, where

800-459: A few salient traits; for example, Roland is loyal and trusting while Ganelon, though brave, is traitorous and vindictive. The story moves at a fast pace, occasionally slowing down and recounting the same scene up to three times but focusing on different details or taking a different perspective each time. The effect is similar to a film sequence shot at different angles so that new and more important details come to light with each shot. According to

960-521: A full-blooded one by Warwick's division causing many French casualties. In any event, most of the Anglo-Gascons stood their ground, tended their wounded, knifed the French wounded and stripped their bodies and those of the already dead, and recovered what arrows they could find in the immediate vicinity, including those impaling dead and wounded Frenchmen. There were many English and Gascons wounded or dead and those still standing were exhausted from three hours of ferocious and near-continuous fighting. As

1120-571: A golden lance from which flames would burn and drive out the Saracens . That suggests that the lance was originally the important object, with the banner simply a decoration, but that changed over time. The Oriflamme was first used in 1124 by Louis VI of France and was last flown in 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt , but a version of it remained in the Abbey of St. Denis until the 18th century. Louis VI replaced

1280-466: A minute and had a shorter effective range than a longbowman of about 220 yards (200 m). The French army was divided into four battles. The foremost division was led by the constable of France , Walter, Count of Brienne . As well as a large core of French men-at-arms it included 200 Scottish men-at-arms under William Douglas, most of the French infantry and crossbowmen and all of their cavalry. The two small groups of cavalry were each led by one of

1440-399: A mixed force of French and foreign men-at-arms, and common heavy infantry. The bolts from their supporting crossbowmen were recorded as falling thickly, but with the cavalry repulsed the longbowmen turned against them and, having a superior rate of fire, were able to force them to withdraw despite their use of pavises. The division's leader, Brienne, the constable of France, was killed, as

1600-501: A much stronger force, hoping to intercept Lancaster. After relieving and re-victualling the besieged fortifications of Breteuil and Pont-Audemer the English stormed and sacked the town of Verneuil . John pursued, but bungled several opportunities to bring the English to battle and they escaped. In three weeks the expedition had, with few casualties, seized a large amount of loot including many horses, cemented new alliances, and damaged

1760-557: A poet named Turold ( Turoldus in the manuscript itself) — and that most of the alterations were completed by about 1098. Some favor the earlier dating, which allows that the narrative was inspired by the Castilian campaigns of the 1030s and that the poem was established early enough to be a major influence in the First Crusade , (1096–1099). Others favor a later dating based on brief passages which are interpreted as alluding to events of

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1920-465: A population of more than 50,000, greater than London's, and Bordeaux was possibly richer. Following a series of disagreements between Philip VI of France ( r.  1328–1350 ) and Edward III of England ( r.  1327–1377 ), on 24 May 1337 Philip's Great Council agreed that the lands held by Edward   III in France should be taken back into Philip's hands on the grounds that Edward   III

2080-468: A river or the sea, where the threat of starvation would force them to take the tactical offensive and attack the French in a prepared position. Once he crossed the Loire, John repeatedly attempted to interpose his army between the Anglo-Gascons and Gascony, so they would be forced to try and fight their way out. Meanwhile, the Black Prince did not wish to rapidly retreat to the safety of Gascony, but to manoeuvre in

2240-559: A surprise attack on the French rear. The account by one contemporary chronicler that all of the Anglo-Gascon men-at-arms remounted at this point is generally discounted by modern historians. Some modern sources have a force of volunteers led by the wounded Audley mounting and being tasked with launching an attack against King John personally once the two forces came to battle – only 4 men by some modern accounts, 400 in others. The modern historian Michael Jones describes this as

2400-468: A truce, but as his army's supplies were already running out the Black Prince rejected this. The Anglo-Gascon army is generally considered by modern historians to have consisted of 6,000 men: 3,000 men-at-arms, 2,000 English and Welsh longbowmen and 1,000 Gascon infantry. The latter included many equipped with either crossbows or javelins , both classed as light infantry . Some contemporary accounts give lower numbers of 4,800 or 5,000. The division of

2560-462: A warrior-king. He declined to march against the Black Prince, declaring that the garrison of Breteuil posed a more serious threat. At some point in August an unusually large belfry, or mobile siege tower , was pushed up to the walls of Breteuil and a full-scale assault launched. The defenders set fire to the belfry and repulsed the attack. Sumption describes the French losses in this attack as "terrible" and

2720-433: A way the French were not. The French commanders, mostly, carried out their orders and their men fought with reckless bravery, but they were inflexible. The Anglo-Gascons were able to respond in the heat of battle to French threats. Sumption describes this as "remarkable", David Green refers to "an extremely flexible tactical response". The historian Peter Hoskins states that most of the Anglo-Gascons having served together for

2880-556: A weak and unsuccessful third assault. Those Frenchmen remaining gathered around the King and launched a fourth assault against the by now exhausted Anglo-Gascons, again all as infantry. The French sacred banner, the Oriflamme , was unfurled, the signal that no prisoners were to be taken. Battle was again joined, with the French slowly getting the better of it. Then a small, mounted, Anglo-Gascon force of 160 men, who had been sent earlier to threaten

3040-414: A withdrawal and provoke a French attack. The commanders of the leading French division took the movement to be a full-scale English withdrawal and ordered their men to advance, thinking this movement would effectively be a pursuit, thus starting the fighting. Audrehem's cavalry attacked Warwick's division on the English left, while Clermont charged Salisbury's on the right. In both cases the French plan

3200-506: A wooded hill in the Fôret de Nouaillé and began preparing it for a defensive battle: digging pits to impede the French advance (especially that of mounted troops) and trenches, and forming barricades to fight behind. They hoped that the French would launch an impromptu assault. Instead, Talleyrand rode up to negotiate. The Black Prince was initially disinclined to delay any battle. He was persuaded to discuss terms after Talleyrand pointed out that

3360-402: A year "contributed to the discipline that the Anglo-Gascons displayed" and suggests that the French attack was ineptly handled. A contemporary French chronicler described this second attack as "more amazing, harder and more lethal than the others". An English account states "Man fought frenziedly against man, each one striving to bring death to his opponent so that he himself might live." As

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3520-623: Is a paperback imprint of the Hutchinson Junior Books edition (1969), which credits the English translation to Hutchinson Junior Books. Luzzati's original verse story in Italian is about the plight of a beautiful maiden called Biancofiore – White Flower, or Blanchefleur – and her brave hero, Captain Rinaldo, and Ricardo and his paladins – the term used for Christian knights engaged in Crusades against

3680-608: Is an 11th-century chanson de geste based on the deeds of the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne . It is the oldest surviving major work of French literature . It exists in various manuscript versions, which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity in Medieval and Renaissance literature from

3840-469: Is divided by a strong caesura which generally falls after the fourth syllable . The last stressed syllable of each line in a laisse has the same vowel sound as every other end-syllable in that laisse. The laisse is therefore an assonal , not a rhyming stanza. On a narrative level, the Song of Roland features extensive use of repetition, parallelism, and thesis-antithesis pairs. Roland proposes Ganelon for

4000-502: Is relevant to its 20th-century plot line: "Oliver, when he saw the Saracens coming, urged Roland to blow his horn and fetch back Charlemagne – but Roland wouldn't blow. A big brave fool. In war one always chooses the wrong hero. Oliver should have been the hero of that song, instead of being given second place with the blood-thirsty Bishop Turpin. [...] In the Oxford version Oliver is reconciled in

4160-457: Is unclear. Many scholars have hypothesized that the marking may have played a role in public performances of the text, such as indicating a place where a jongleur would change the tempo. Contrarily, Nathan Love believes that "AOI" marks locations where the scribe or copyist is signaling that he has deviated from the primary manuscript: ergo, the mark indicates the source is a non-performance manuscript. The Song of Roland ' s account of

4320-517: The Oriflamme was killed and the sacred banner captured. Surrounded by enemies, John and his youngest son, Philip, surrendered. Frenchmen who had fled soon after the Captal de Buch's force arrived generally reached their horses and were able to escape. Once John's division was clearly retreating many Anglo-Gascons mounted and pursued. A large number pursued the Frenchmen fleeing towards what they thought

4480-675: The Carolingian era , the Song of Roland was written centuries later. There is a single extant manuscript of the Song of Roland in Old French , held at the Bodleian Library at Oxford . It dates between 1129 and 1165 and was written in Anglo-Norman . There are eight additional manuscripts and three fragments of other poems on the subject of Roland. Scholars estimate that the poem was written between approximately 1040 and 1115 — possibly by

4640-649: The English Channel . The fleet hired by the French only contained nine galleys, but it caused panic among the English. Edward's attempts to raise an army to send to France were still underway and shipping was being assembled. The troops gathered were split up to guard the coast and the ships sailing to Southampton to transport the army were ordered to remain in port until the galleys had left. At some point in August Lancaster marched south from eastern Brittany with an army of 2,500 men or more. The unusual height of

4800-474: The Loire River, both to be able to come to grips with the French army and to link up with either Edward III's or Lancaster's army, if they were in the area. The French royal army from Breteuil had moved to Chartres , where it received reinforcements, particularly of men-at-arms . John sent home nearly all of the infantry contingents, which reduced the French wage bill and left an entirely mounted force that had

4960-519: The Song of Roland was at first performed orally in many different versions with varying material and episodes, which were fixed and harmonized in the textual form. Early 19th century editors of the Song of Roland , informed in part by patriotic desires to elevate a distinctly French epic, could thus overstate the textual cohesiveness of the Roland tradition as they presented it to the public. Andrew Taylor notes, "[T]he Roland song was, if not invented, at

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5120-653: The Song of Roland . There is also Faroese adoption of this ballad named "Runtsivalstríðið" (Battle of Roncevaux), and a Norwegian version called "Rolandskvadet". The ballad is one of many sung during the Faroese folkdance tradition of chain dancing. Joseph Haydn and Nunziato Porta's opera, Orlando Paladino (1782), the most popular of Haydn's operas during his lifetime, is based loosely on The Song of Roland via Ariosto's version, as are Antonio Vivaldi and Grazio Braccioli 's 1727 opera and their earlier 1714 version. The Chanson de Roland has an important place in

5280-499: The Truce of Calais was signed, partially the result of both countries being financially exhausted. The same year the Black Death reached northern France and southern England and is estimated to have killed a third of the population of Western Europe; the death rate was over 40% in southern England. This catastrophe, which lasted until 1350, temporarily halted the fighting. The treaty

5440-491: The 12th to 16th centuries. The epic poem written in Old French is the first and one of the most outstanding examples of the chanson de geste , a literary form that flourished between the 11th and 16th centuries in Medieval Europe and celebrated legendary deeds. An early version was composed around 1040 AD, with additions and alterations made up to about 1115 AD. The final poem contains about 4,000 lines. Although set in

5600-523: The 1994 video game Marathon , by Bungie, in the 13th level. Durandal is also the name of the main antagonist of the game. On 22 July 2017 Michael Eging and Steve Arnold released a novel, The Silver Horn Echoes: A Song of Roland , inspired by the La Chanson de Roland . This work is more closely based on a screenplay written by Michael Eging in 2008, simply known as "Song of Roland" and first optioned to Alan Kaplan at Cine LA that same year. The book explores

5760-522: The Anglo-Gascon army and were unaware of its position, but were about to position themselves 20 miles (32 km) south of the Anglo-Gascons and directly in their path back to friendly territory. The Black Prince saw an opportunity to attack the French while they were on the march, or possibly even while crossing the Vienne, and so set off at first light on 17   September to intercept them, leaving his baggage train behind to follow on as best it could. When

5920-423: The Anglo-Gascon army which had devastated so much of France and to tamely allow it to escape. John was persuaded and Talleyrand informed the Black Prince he could expect a battle. Attempts to agree a site for the battle failed, as the French wished the Anglo-Gascons to move out of their strong defensive position and the English wished to remain there. At dawn on 19   September Talleyrand again attempted to arrange

6080-466: The Anglo-Gascon vanguard reached Chauvigny most of the French army had already crossed and marched on towards Poitiers . A force of 700 men-at-arms of the French rearguard was intercepted near Savigny-Lévescault . Contemporary accounts note that they were not wearing helmets, suggesting they were completely unarmoured and not expecting battle. They were rapidly routed with 240 killed or captured, including 3 counts taken prisoner. Many Anglo-Gascons pursued

6240-510: The Anglo-Gascons continued their withdrawal to Gascony. The following spring a two-year truce was agreed and the Black Prince escorted John to London. Populist revolts broke out across France. Negotiations to end the war and ransom John dragged out. In response Edward launched a further campaign in 1359. During this, both sides compromised and the Treaty of Brétigny was agreed in 1360 by which vast areas of France were ceded to England, to be ruled by

6400-582: The Anglo-Gascons, who were fighting entirely on foot. A second French attack by 4,000 men-at-arms on foot under John's son and heir Charles , the Dauphin , followed. After a prolonged fight this was also repulsed. As the Dauphin's division recoiled there was confusion in the French ranks: about half the men of their third division, under Philip, Duke of Orléans , left the field, taking with them all four of John's sons. Some of those who did not withdraw with Philip launched

6560-519: The Battle of Roncesvalles is not supported by history. According to Einhard 's Vita Karoli Magni from the late eighth century, the attackers were Basques seeking revenge against Charlemagne's army for the looting of Pamplona. The following is the depiction in the poem itself, not a historical account. Charlemagne 's army is fighting the Arab Muslims in Spain . They have campaigned for seven years, and

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6720-534: The Black Prince , during the Hundred Years' War . It took place in western France, 5 miles (8 km) south of Poitiers , when approximately 14,000 to 16,000 French attacked a strong defensive position held by 6,000 Anglo-Gascons. Nineteen years after the start of the war, the Black Prince, eldest son and heir of the English King, set out on a major campaign in south-west France. His army marched from Bergerac to

6880-469: The Black Prince gave the order for a general advance. This bolstered Anglo-Gascon morale and shook the French. Discipline reasserted itself and the Anglo-Gascons moved forward, out of their defensive positions. The French crossbowmen advanced in front of their men-at-arms, and as the English longbowmen on the flanks of the Anglo-Gascon men-at-arms came within range they attempted to establish fire superiority. The French crossbow bolts are said to have "darkened

7040-480: The Black Prince moved his army some 8 miles (13 km) south to Montbazon where he took up a fresh defensive position on 12   September. The same day John's son and heir, Charles , the Dauphin , entered Tours, having travelled from Normandy with 1,000 men-at-arms, and Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord , Cardinal of Périgord, arrived at the Black Prince's camp to attempt to negotiate a two-day truce on behalf of Pope Innocent VI . According to differing sources this

7200-476: The Black Prince, and John was ransomed for three million gold écu . At the time this seemed to end the war, but the French resumed hostilities in 1369 and recaptured most of the lost territory. The war eventually ended with a French victory in 1453. Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, English monarchs had held titles and lands within France, the possession of which made them vassals of the kings of France. By

7360-632: The Christians are burying and mourning their dead. The Franks fight valiantly. When Charlemagne kills Baligant, the Muslim army scatters and flees, leaving the Franks to conquer Saragossa. With Marsile's wife Bramimonde , Queen of Saragossa, Charlemagne and his men ride back to Aix , their capital in Francia. The Franks discover Ganelon's betrayal and keep him in chains until his trial, where Ganelon argues that his action

7520-544: The Conqueror 's use of the poem as a motivator for Norman forces prior to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. In 2019, German folk rock band dArtagnan released "Chanson de Roland", a modern adaptation of the Song of Roland . It has garnered over 1.8 million views on YouTube. Battle of Poitiers (1356) The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19   September 1356 between a French army commanded by King John   II and an Anglo - Gascon force under Edward,

7680-585: The Crusade. Those favoring an earlier dating argue that the term is used generically to refer to "a Muslim land." It is possible that the bulk of the poem dates from before the Crusades, with a few additions from the time of the First Crusade. After two manuscripts were found in 1832 and 1835 and published in 1837, the Song of Roland became recognized as France's national epic . Scholarly consensus has long accepted that

7840-466: The Dauphin's division marked a general retreat. There were official accounts after the battle that John had ordered Orléans to escort his four sons to safety, but these were widely disbelieved and rumoured to have been invented after the event to excuse the behaviour of Orléans and the men who had retreated with him. Three of John's four sons, including the Dauphin, did leave the field at this point; one, Philip , returned to his father's side and took part in

8000-461: The Dauphin's division recoiled there was confusion in the French ranks. The third French division contained 3,200 men-at-arms. Their commander, John's brother the Duke of Orléans, marched away from the battle with half of them and many of the survivors of the first two attacks. The contemporary sources contradict each other regarding the reasons for this. Orléans may have thought that the orderly withdrawal of

8160-464: The English and Welsh archers was unique to them; it took up to ten years to master and an experienced archer could discharge up to ten arrows per minute well over 330 yards (300 m). Computer analysis by Warsaw University of Technology in 2017 demonstrated that heavy bodkin point arrows could penetrate typical plate armour of the time at 250 yards (230 m). The depth of penetration would be slight at that range; predicted penetration increased as

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8320-437: The English positions. After the two armies had been facing each other for about two hours the French detected movement among the English, and believed the Black Prince's personal standard was withdrawing. There is modern debate as to what movement took place. Some scholars have proposed that the movement was of wagons, escorted by cavalry from Warwick's division; the wagons may have been empty and returning to their laager in

8480-483: The English" it is also assumed by many modern historians that the longbowmen, still well supplied with ammunition able to punch straight through armour at close range, played a prominent part in the attack's repulse. The Black Prince was infuriated by the participation of Talleyrand's relatives and companions, and when told that a relative of the Cardinal, the châtelain d'Emposte, had been captured he ordered him beheaded; he

8640-455: The First Crusade. Relevant to the question of dating the poem, the term d'oltre mer (or l'oltremarin ) occurs three times in the text in reference to named Muslims who came to fight in Spain and France. The Old French oltre mer (oversea, modern French outremer ) was commonly used during and after the First Crusade to refer to the Latin Levant , which supports a date of composition after

8800-475: The Franks are convinced of Ganelon's treason. Thus, he is torn apart by having four galloping horses tied one to each arm and leg and thirty of his relatives are hanged. Bramimonde converts to Christianity, her name changing to Juliana. While sleeping, Charlemagne is told by Gabriel to ride to help King Vivien and bemoans his life. The song is written in stanzas of irregular length known as laisses . The lines are decasyllabic (containing ten syllables), and each

8960-516: The Franks re-enter Francia through the mountain passes. As Ganelon predicted, Roland leads the rear guard, with the wise and moderate Oliver and the fierce Archbishop Turpin . The Muslims ambush them at Roncesvalles and the Christians are overwhelmed. Oliver pleads with Roland to blow his horn to call for help, but Roland tells him that blowing his horn in the middle of the battle would be an act of cowardice. If Roland continues to refuse, Oliver will not let Roland see his sister again whom Roland loves

9120-448: The Franks will go back to Francia . Charlemagne and his men, tired of fighting, accept his peace offer and select a messenger to Marsile's court. The protagonist Roland , Charlemagne's nephew, nominates his stepfather Ganelon as messenger. Ganelon, who fears being murdered by the enemy and accuses Roland of intending this, takes revenge by informing the Saracens of a way to ambush the rear guard of Charlemagne's army, led by Roland, as

9280-631: The French Colonial Empire, war, and oppression. The poem is included in The Collected Poetry of Aimé Césaire. An excerpt reads: Undulating innocent all the juices rising in the lust of the earth all the poisons distilled by the nocturnal alembics in the involucres of the Malvaceae all the thundering of the Saponaria are like these discordant words written by the flames of pyres over

9440-410: The French could pin his army and that he was occupying an advantageous defensive position. He arrived there on 14   September, the day Talleyrand had proposed for the two armies to engage in battle, and waited for the French to come to him. Two days later his scouts reported that John had bypassed his position and was about to cross the Vienne at Chauvigny . At this point the French had lost track of

9600-407: The French economy and prestige. The French King returned to Breteuil and re-established the siege, where he continued to be distracted from the English preparations for a greater chevauchée from south-west France. On 4   August 1356 a combined force of 6,000 Gascon and English fighting men headed north from Bergerac . They were accompanied by approximately 4,000 non-combatants . All of

9760-486: The French had travelled mounted, they all fought dismounted at Poitiers except for two small groups of mounted knights , totalling either 300 or 500. These were selected from the Frenchmen who had the best armour, especially on their horses; horse armour is known as barding and the use of plate armour for this was a recent innovation in Western Europe. Their riders were equipped as the dismounted men-at-arms, apart from

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9920-402: The French national administration as "fall[ing] apart in jealous acrimony and recrimination". A contemporary chronicler recorded "the King of France was severely hated in his own realm". The town of Arras rebelled and killed loyalists. The major nobles of Normandy refused to pay taxes. On 5   April 1356 John arrested the notoriously treacherous Charles   II, king of Navarre , one of

10080-426: The French rear, appeared behind the French. Believing themselves surrounded, some Frenchmen fled, which panicked others, and soon the entire French force collapsed. John was captured, as was one of his sons and between 2,000 and 3,000 men-at-arms. Approximately 2,500 French men-at-arms were killed. Additionally, either 1,500 or 3,800 French common infantry were killed or captured. The surviving French dispersed, while

10240-414: The French town of Rocamadour , Roland threw the sword into a cliffside. A replication of the legendary sword can be found there, embedded into the cliff-face next to the town's sanctuary. A Latin poem, Carmen de Prodicione Guenonis , was composed around 1120, and a Latin prose version, Historia Caroli Magni (often known as "The Pseudo-Turpin") even earlier. Around 1170, a version of the French poem

10400-418: The French would have won this fight if no other factors had intervened. The Anglo-Gascon line was starting to break when it was reinforced by men of Warwick's division returning from their pursuit. This heartened the Anglo-Gascons and discouraged the French. If it occurred, it was at this point that Audley led a cavalry charge aimed directly at the French king. The fighting continued, with the French focused on

10560-453: The French, Edward had given his son written permission to, in such circumstances, "help himself by making a truce or armistice, or in any other way that seems best to him." This has caused modern historians to doubt the Prince's sincerity. The French discussed these proposals at length, with John in favour. Several senior advisers felt it would be humiliating to, as they saw it, have at their mercy

10720-402: The Loire and the French control of its bridges meant Lancaster was unable to cross and effect a junction. In early September he abandoned the attempt to force a crossing at Les Ponts-de-Cé and returned to Brittany where he laid siege to its capital, Rennes . The Anglo-Gascon army was treading a balance. While there were no large French forces facing them they spread out to loot and despoil

10880-557: The Mediterranean coast and deep in French-held territory – and back to Gascony. They devastated a wide swathe of French territory and sacked many French towns on the way. John, Count of Armagnac , who commanded the local French forces, avoided battle, and there was little fighting. While no territory was captured, enormous economic damage was done to France; the modern historian Clifford Rogers concluded "the importance of

11040-541: The River Loire , which they were unable to cross. John gathered a large and unusually mobile army and pursued Edward's forces. The Anglo-Gascons had by this point established a strong defensive position near Poitiers, and after unsuccessful negotiations between the two sides, were attacked by the French. The first assault included two units of heavily armoured cavalry, a strong force of crossbowmen as well as many infantry and dismounted men-at-arms . They were driven back by

11200-519: The Saracens and Moors. Battling with these good people are the wicked Moors – North African Muslims and Arabs – and their Sultan, in Jerusalem. With the assistance of the wicked and treacherous magician, Gano of Maganz, Biancofiore is stolen from her fortress castle, and taken to become the reluctant wife of the Sultan. The catalyst for victory is the good magician, Urlubulu, who lives in a lake, and flies through

11360-567: The Song of Roland, the legendary sword called Durandal was first given to Charlemagne by an angel. It contained one tooth of Saint Peter , blood of Saint Basil , hair of Saint Denis , and a piece of the raiment of the Blessed Virgin Mary , and was supposedly the sharpest sword in all existence. In the story of the Song of Roland, the weapon is given to Roland, and he uses it to defend himself single-handedly against thousands of Muslim attackers. According to one 12th-century legend from

11520-542: The air on the back of his magic blue bird. The English translators, using the original illustrations, and the basic rhyme patterns, slightly simplify the plot, changing the Christians-versus-Muslim-Moors conflict into a battle between good and bad magicians and between golden knights and green knights. The French traitor in The Song of Roland, who is actually Roland's cowardly step-father, is Ganelon – very likely

11680-488: The approaching force. The Anglo-Gascon command group conferred. It seemed probable that if they stood to face a fourth attack they would be defeated. They decided to attempt a stratagem . Perhaps remembering a similar ploy by a French force at the 1349 Battle of Lunalonge it was agreed to send a small mounted group under the Gascon lord Jean, the Captal de Buch, on a circuitous march around the French flank in an attempt to launch

11840-401: The arrows and charged home into the survivors of the 3,000 English and Gascon men-at-arms who had started the battle. The longbowmen threw their bows aside and joined the melee armed with swords and hand axes. Battle was again joined, with fierce fighting. The impetus of the Anglo-Gascon charge was halted by the French, who slowly got the better of the struggle. Rogers is of the opinion that

12000-423: The attack, the French attempted to smash through the men-at-arms defending the gap. The English archers positioned in trenches near and to the right of the hedge are calculated to have fired 50 arrows per second at Clermont's group of cavalry. Gascon crossbowmen joined in; although they had a much lower rate of fire, they could penetrate plate armour at longer ranges. Despite this fire, the cavalry were able to reach

12160-499: The background of Graham Greene 's The Confidential Agent , published in 1939. The book's protagonist had been a Medieval scholar specialising in this work, until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War forced him to become a soldier and secret agent. Throughout the book, he repeatedly compares himself and other characters with the characters of "Roland". Particularly, the book includes a full two pages of specific commentary, which

12320-456: The battle. As well as the King and his youngest son they included the archbishop of Sens , one of the two marshals of France, and the seneschals of Saintonge , Tours and Poitou . Approximately 2,500 French men-at-arms were killed, as were 3,300 common soldiers according to English accounts or 700 by French ones. Among the slain were the French King's uncle; the grand constable of France;

12480-401: The borders of Gascony, and others more than 80 miles (130 km) away. Local French commanders did not attempt countermeasures. Several members of the local French nobility changed allegiance to the English; the Black Prince received homage from them on 24   April 1356. Money and enthusiasm for the war were running low in France. The modern historian Jonathan Sumption describes

12640-427: The dangerous mission to Sarrogossa; Ganelon designates Roland to man the rearguard. Charlemagne is contrasted with Baligant. Unlike later Renaissance and Romantic literature , the poem focuses on action rather than introspection. The characters are presented through what they do, not through what they think or feel. The narrator gives few explanations for characters' behaviour. The warriors are stereotypes defined by

12800-408: The division confirmed the movement and the surviving men-at-arms marched away from the Anglo-Gascons. It is unclear if the Anglo-Gascons pursued the French, and if so, to what extent. Some modern historians state that the Anglo-Gascons again remained in their positions, as they had after the repulse of the first French division. Others write of a limited pursuit by individuals breaking ranks or of

12960-522: The earlier banner of Saint Martin with the oriflamme of the Abbey of St. Denis, which floated about the tomb of St. Denis and was said to have been given to the abbey by Dagobert I , King of the Franks . Until the 12th century, the standard-bearer was the Comte de Vexin , who, as vowed to St. Denis , was the temporal defender of the abbey. Louis VI, having acquired Vexin, became standard-bearer. As soon as war began, he received Communion at St. Denis and took

13120-417: The economic attrition aspect of the chevauchée can hardly be exaggerated." The expedition returned to Gascony on 2   December having marched 675 miles (1,100 km). The English troops resumed the offensive from Gascony after Christmas to great effect. More than 50 French-held towns or fortifications were captured during the following four months, including strategically important towns close to

13280-552: The elite of the French army: John's personal bodyguards, senior nobles or members of the Order of the Star . (The latter had all sworn not to retreat from a battle. ) The fighting was brutal as these men refused to surrender. Their cause was clearly hopeless and the Anglo-Gascons were eager to take them prisoner – in order that they could be ransomed – rather than kill them, so many were captured. The standard-bearer of

13440-399: The end, he gives Roland his death-blow by accident, his eyes blinded by wounds. [But] the story had been tidied up. In truth, Oliver strikes his friend down in full knowledge – because of what he has done to his men, all the wasted lives. Oliver dies hating the man he loves – the big boasting courageous fool who was more concerned with his own glory than with the victory of his faith. This makes

13600-448: The entire second siege as "a pointless endeavour". The historian Kenneth Fowler describes the siege as "magnificent but archaic". Eventually John had to give way to the pressure to do something to prevent the destruction being inflicted in south-west France. Sometime around 20   August he offered the garrison of Breteuil free passage, a huge bribe and permission to take with them their valuables and goods, which persuaded them to vacate

13760-484: The fallen foe: that gracious God Sends me a messenger of mercy forth, Sends me to save this ravaged realm of France, To England friendly as to all the world; Only to those an enemy, whose lust Of sway makes them the enemies of man." The 20th-century Martiniquais poet and politician, Aimé Césaire (1913–2008) invokes the Oriflamme in his poem "Your Hair" ("Chevelure"). By invoking the Oriflamme, Césaire also invokes

13920-494: The fighting men were mounted, including those who would always fight on foot, such as the archers. On 14   August the Anglo-Gascon army separated into three divisions, which moved north abreast of each other and began to systematically devastate the countryside. There would be approximately 40 miles (64 km) between the flanking units, enabling them to devastate a band of French territory more than 50 miles (80 km) wide, yet be able to unite to face an enemy at approximately

14080-527: The fighting to retrieve arrows. The Anglo-Gascons were divided into three divisions or " battles ". The one on the left was commanded by Thomas, Earl of Warwick , marshal of England and a veteran of the Battle of Crecy, where he had been guardian to the Black Prince. He had as deputies John, Earl of Oxford , and the Gascon lord Jean , Captal de Buch ; they were assisted by mostly Gascon lords. As well as 1,000 men-at-arms, Warwick's division contained approximately 1,000 archers. The archers were positioned to

14240-427: The fighting went on, the Black Prince was forced to commit almost all of his reserves to reinforce weak spots. Both sides suffered many casualties. Audley was noted for being wounded in the body, head and face, and fighting on for the English. One of the French joint commanders, Bourbon, was killed, and the Dauphin's standard-bearer was captured. The Dauphin was accompanied by two of his brothers, Louis and John, and

14400-471: The final attack. Of the 1,600 men who did not flee the scene, who included some from Orléans' inner circle, many joined the King's division behind. The rest advanced against the Anglo-Gascons and launched a feeble attack, which was repelled easily. In the aftermath of this failure a number, possibly a large number, of men from Warwick's division left their positions and pursued the French. One motivation for this would have been their intention to take prisoners,

14560-436: The first attack. Modern scholars differ as to whether the French or the Anglo-Gascons had more men at this stage of the battle. This very large division marched across the one-mile-wide (1,600 m) gap towards the by now exhausted Anglo-Gascons, again all as infantry. The King ordered the French sacred banner, the Oriflamme , to be unfurled, which signalled that no prisoners were to be taken, on pain of death. It

14720-461: The first quarter of the fourteenth century, the only significant French possession still held by the English in France was Gascony in the south-west. But Gascony was disproportionately important: duty levied by the English Crown on wine from Bordeaux , the capital of Gascony, totalled more than all other English customs duties combined and was by far the largest source of state income. Bordeaux had

14880-554: The first to run were able to reach their horses and escape, as the Anglo-Gascons concentrated on dealing with their enemies who were still fighting. These were pushed back as the Anglo-Gascons were reinvigorated by the prospect of victory. The French still fighting around their King were forced into a loop of the River Miosson, known as the Champ d'Alexandre. By now they had been surrounded and split into small groups. Many of these men were

15040-564: The flanking divisions contained longbowmen. He had two veteran campaigners, John Chandos and James Audley , as his deputies. Initially the Prince's force was held back behind the other two divisions as a reserve. Each division deployed four to five men deep. It is possible a further, small, reserve was held back behind the Prince's division. The French army was made up of between 14,000 and 16,000 men: 10,000 to 12,000 were men-at-arms, 2,000 were crossbowmen and 2,000 were infantrymen who were not classed as men-at-arms. Although most or all of

15200-590: The following battles/campaigns: The Oriflamme was lost at least four times during its medieval history: Mons-en-Pévèle, Crécy, Poitiers, and during the campaigns of the Seventh Crusade under King Louis IX . Although the Oriflamme has often been depicted as present at the battle of Agincourt, modern historians have disputed that. The banner was given to Guillaume de Martel by Charles VI of France on September 10, 1415 and carried by Martel from Paris to Rouen. That

15360-415: The gap in the hedge with few casualties. Here a fierce melee broke out. With the French now halted and at close range, the longbowmen were more effective against them. The French were also heavily outnumbered by the English men-at-arms and were forced back with heavy losses, including Clermont killed. The sources contain only details concerning the rest of the attack by the first French division, made up of

15520-421: The inspiration for Luzzati's traitor and wicked magician, Gano. Orlando Furioso (literally, Furious or Enraged Orlando, or Roland), includes Orlando's cousin, the paladin Rinaldo, who, like Orlando, is also in love with Angelica, a pagan princess. Rinaldo is, of course, the Italian equivalent of Ronald. Flying through the air on the back of a magic bird is equivalent to flying on a magic hippogriff . It appears in

15680-426: The inventory of the treasury of Saint-Denis (1536). They show that the primitive Oriflamme was succeeded in the course of the centuries by newer Oriflammes, which bore little resemblance to one another except for their colour. According to Maurice Keen , the oriflamme, when displayed on the battlefield, indicated that no quarter was to be given: its red colour being symbolic of cruelty and ferocity. The bearer of

15840-513: The king's lieutenant in Gascony, with plenipotentiary powers, by the Gascon officials and dignitaries. Gascon nobles reinforced him to a strength of somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 and provided a bridging train and a substantial supply train . Edward set out on 5   October on a chevauchée , which was a large-scale mounted raid . The Anglo-Gascon force marched from Bordeaux 300 miles (480 km) to Narbonne  – almost on

16000-619: The king’s battle formation and smashed it; there were so many English and Gascons that at least five of these men at arms attacked one [French] gentleman. Sir Geoffroi de Charny was killed with the banner of France in his hand, as other French banners fell to earth. In Canto XXXI of Paradiso , Dante describes the Virgin Mary in the Empyrean as pacifica oriafiamma (Musa's translation, "oriflame of peace"): so there, on high, that oriflame of peace lit up its center while on either side its glow

16160-486: The land. But their primary objective was to use the threat of devastation to force, or perhaps persuade, the French army to attack them. The Anglo-Gascons were confident that fighting defensively on ground of their choosing they could defeat a numerically superior French force. In the event of the French being too numerous they were equally confident that they could avoid battle by manoeuvring. The French, aware of this approach, usually attempted to isolate English forces against

16320-521: The large majority infantry, although up to two-thirds of them would be tied down in garrisoning their fortifications. In 1345 and 1346 Henry, Earl of Lancaster , led a series of successful Anglo-Gascon campaigns in Aquitaine and was able to push the focus of the fighting away from the heart of Gascony. The French port of Calais fell to the English in August 1347 after the Crécy campaign . Shortly after this

16480-497: The largest landholders in Normandy and nine more of his more outspoken critics; four were summarily executed. The Norman nobles who had not been arrested turned to Edward for assistance. Seeing an opportunity, Edward III diverted an expedition planned for Brittany under Henry of Lancaster to Normandy in late June. Lancaster set off with 2,300 men and pillaged and burnt his way eastward across Normandy. King John moved to Rouen with

16640-500: The last city standing is Saragossa , held by King Marsile , who is pictured not as a Muslim, but a follower of Mahumet and Apollin . Threatened by the might of Charlemagne's Franks , Marsile seeks advice from his wise man, Blancandrin , who counsels him to conciliate the Emperor, offering to surrender and giving hostages. Accordingly, Marsile sends out messengers to Charlemagne, promising treasure and Marsile's conversion to Christianity if

16800-457: The later, southern aesthetic into the story. An Old Norse version of the Song of Roland exists as Karlamagnús saga , and a translation into the artificial literary language of Franco-Venetian is also known; such translations contributed to the awareness of the story in Italy . In 1516 Ludovico Ariosto published his epic Orlando Furioso , which deals largely with characters first described in

16960-411: The leading Frenchmen, giving the Anglo-Gascons the opportunity to counter-attack and reform their line. Suffolk, aged almost 60, rode behind the Anglo-Gascon line, shouting encouragement, directing reinforcements to threatened points and telling the archers where to direct their fire. Throughout the battle the experienced English and Gascon commanders were able to manoeuvre and redeploy their troops in

17120-495: The left of the men-at-arms. The right flank was under William, Earl of Salisbury , deputised by Robert, Earl of Suffolk , and Maurice, Baron Berkeley . Salisbury's division, like Warwick's, consisted of about 1,000 men-at-arms and 1,000 Welsh and English longbowmen. Again the archers were positioned on the flank of the men-at-arms, in this case the right. The Black Prince took command of the centre division, which consisted of men-at-arms and Gascon infantry: about 1,000 of each, only

17280-401: The longbowmen would have had to leave the protection of the marsh, which would have exposed them to the risk of being ridden down by the French. Instead, they turned their fire on the supporting crossbowmen and, having a superior rate of fire, were able to suppress them . Oxford realised the French horses were mostly only barded on their forequarters. He led some of the archers along the edge of

17440-454: The lower edge of the helmet to protect the throat, neck and shoulders. A moveable visor (face guard) protected the face. Heater shields , typically made from thin wood overlaid with leather, were carried. The English men-at-arms were all dismounted. The weapons they used are not recorded, but in similar battles they used their lances as pikes, cut them down to use as short spears , or fought with swords and battle-axes. The longbow used by

17600-428: The marsh to a position from which they could shoot into the horses' unprotected hindquarters. The French cavalry took heavy casualties and withdrew; Audrehem was captured. On the English right Clermont advanced more cautiously, not far ahead of Brienne's dismounted troops. He discovered that Salisbury's men were defending a thick hedge with a single passable gap, wide enough for four horses abreast. Already committed to

17760-432: The men-at-arms between English and Gascons is not recorded, but the previous year, when campaigning with a similarly sized army, 1,000 of the Prince's men-at-arms had been English. All of the Anglo-Gascons travelled on horses, but all or nearly all of them dismounted to fight. The men-at-arms of both armies were, broadly, knights or knights in training. They were drawn from the landed gentry and ranged from great lords to

17920-412: The mobility and speed to match that of the Black Prince's all-mounted army. Two hundred Scottish picked men-at-arms under William, Lord of Douglas , joined John at Chartres. Once John felt he had an overwhelmingly strong force it set off south towards the Loire, and then south-west along its north bank. Early on 8   September the Black Prince's army reached Tours, where he received news that Lancaster

18080-678: The most. However, Archbishop Turpin intervenes and tells them that the battle will be fatal for all of them and so instructs Roland to blow his horn oliphant (an elephant tusk hunting horn) to call for help from the Frankish army. The emperor hears the call en route to Francia. Charlemagne and his noblemen gallop back even though Count Ganelon tries to trick them. Roland's Franks fight well, but are outnumbered, until almost all his men are dead and he knows that Charlemagne's army can no longer save them. Despite this, he blows his olifant to summon revenge, blowing so hard that his temples start to bleed. After

18240-403: The opponents in front of them. With the battle in the balance, the Captal de Buch's 160 men arrived undetected in the French rear. His 100 archers dismounted and opened an effective fire into the French rear  – a contemporary account states they "greatly and horribly pierced" the French  – and his 60 mounted men-at-arms charged into the rear of the French line. Then

18400-414: The opportunities to forage. Because of this, food was almost exhausted. Unknown to Talleyrand the Anglo-Gascons were already unable to find sufficient water for their horses. After lengthy negotiations the Black Prince agreed extensive concessions in exchange for free passage to Gascony. However, they were dependent on the agreement being ratified by his father, Edward   III. Unknown to Talleyrand or

18560-408: The previous three attacks filled in behind them. They were more tired than those in the front ranks and, having already having taken part in a failed assault, their morale was brittle. Dismayed by Warwick's reinforcement and shocked by the Captal de Buch's sudden arrival behind them, some started to run from the field. Once this movement had started others copied them and the division fell apart. Most of

18720-439: The range closed or against armour of less than the best quality available at the time. At short range longbow arrows could pierce any practicable thickness of plate armour if they struck at the correct angle. Archers carried one quiver of 24 arrows as standard. There may have been a resupply of ammunition from the wagons to the rear during the battle to at least some longbowmen; the archers also ventured forward during pauses in

18880-437: The ransoming of whom could be extremely lucrative. Many of the English and Welsh archers again scavenged longbow arrows from the immediate vicinity. Of those men-at-arms who did not pursue, the majority were carrying wounds of varying degrees of severity and treating them was a preoccupation. John's fourth French division had started the battle with 2,000 men-at-arms, including 400 picked men under his personal command. Many of

19040-448: The rear, or full and moving to a safer position away from the front line, or both and the start of a staged withdrawal by the English. If the latter their escort may have been most or all of Warwick's division and the movement of the standard was possibly his being mistaken for the Prince's or the Prince moving back as the second part of the disengagement. Another proposal is that the Black Prince deliberately had his troops move to simulate

19200-452: The relatives and attendants of minor landowners. They needed to be able to equip themselves with a full suit of armour and a warhorse. They wore a quilted gambeson under chain mail which covered the body and limbs. This was supplemented by varying amounts of plate armour on the body and limbs, more so for wealthier and more experienced men. Heads were protected by bascinets : open-faced military iron or steel helmets, with mail attached to

19360-434: The remaining, fleeing, French, although the Black Prince held back most of his army, not wishing to scatter it in the close vicinity of the enemy, and camped at Savigny-Lévescault. In response, John drew up his army outside Poitiers in battle order. On 18   September the Anglo-Gascons marched towards Poitiers arrayed for battle. They took up a strong, carefully selected position 5 miles (8 km) south of Poitiers on

19520-476: The retreating members of the first assault. The French had to force their way through the hedge the English were defending, which put them at a disadvantage, but they closed with the Anglo-Gascons in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting which went on for two hours. They massed against two gaps in the hedge, on one occasion succeeding in driving back their opponents and breaking through; a force of archers had been deployed to cover this position and their fire cut down

19680-458: The same time as assembling a field army; he was unable to, largely because of a lack of money. In 1355 Edward   III's eldest son, Edward of Woodstock , later known as the Black Prince, was given the Gascon command and began assembling men, shipping and supplies. He arrived in Bordeaux on 20   September accompanied by 2,200 English soldiers. The next day he was formally acknowledged as

19840-399: The scheming Byzantine emissary, Honorius. The cover artwork was hand painted by Jordan Raskin. The authors determined when writing both the screenplay and the novel to remain in the world created by the poem; thus, Charles remains an older man near the end of his long reign rather than in 778 when the attack on the rearguard actually occurred. Further, this novel bookends the story with William

20000-497: The side of his king at the Battle of Poitiers in this passage: There Sir Geoffroi de Charny fought gallantly near the king (note: and his fourteen-year-old son). The whole press and cry of battle were upon him because he was carrying the king’s sovereign banner [the Oriflamme]. He also had before him his own banner, gules , three escutcheons argent . So many English and Gascons came around him from all sides that they cracked open

20160-478: The sky". The men firing them were able to shelter behind pavises and the English archers were running short of arrows after the desperate fighting of the morning. Nevertheless, the English were able to largely suppress this fire until the crossbowmen drew aside to let the French men-at-arms through for their final charge. As the English archers expended the last of their ammunition these 4,000 or so men-at-arms attempted to use their shields, ducked their heads against

20320-428: The standard from the tomb of the saint to carry it into combat. Although the azure ground (from the blue cope of St. Martin of Tours ) strewn with gold fleur-de-lis remained the symbol of royalty until the 15th century, the Oriflamme became the royal battle standard of the King of France, and it was carried at the head of the king's forces when they met another army in battle. It is recorded as having been carried at

20480-456: The standard, the porte-oriflamme , became an office , like that of the Marshal or Constable and a great honour, as it was an important and very dangerous position to take charge of such a visible symbol in battle. If things went badly, the bearer was expected to be killed in action , rather than relinquish his charge. Froissart vividly describes porte-oriflamme Geoffroi de Charny 's fall at

20640-626: The standards wavered and the standard-bearers fell. Some were trampled, their innards torn open, and others spat out their own teeth. Many were stuck fast to the ground, impaled. Not a few lost whole arms as they stood there. Some died, swallowing in the blood of others, some groaned, crushed beneath the heavy weight of the fallen, mightly souls gave forth fearful lamentations as they departed from wretched bodies. Geoffrey le Baker The 2,000 men who had originally made up John's division were all assigned to its front line when it advanced. Men who joined after their original divisions had been defeated in

20800-970: The story tragedy, not just heroics". It is also adapted by Stephen King, in the Dark Tower series in which Roland Deschain wishes to save the Dark Tower from the Crimson King, itself inspired by Robert Browning's " Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came ". The Song of Roland is part of the Matter of France (the Continental counterpart to the Arthurian legendarium known as the Matter of Britain ), and related to Orlando Furioso . The names Roland and Orlando are cognates. Emanuele Luzzati's animated short film, I paladini di Francia , together with Giulio Gianini , in 1960,

20960-627: The sublime oriflammes of your revolt The Oriflamme is depicted in season 2 episode 6 of the History Channel series Knightfall . The Oriflamme is also raised in History Channel's Vikings during a 9th Century siege of Paris, predating the first mention of the banner by two centuries. In the Discworld novel Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, the flag of the theocracy of Omnia is referred to as an Oriflamme. Chanson de Roland The Song of Roland ( French : La Chanson de Roland )

21120-691: The superior quality of their armour. They wielded wooden lances, usually ash, tipped with iron and approximately 13 feet (4 m) long; their dismounted colleagues retained their lances, but cut them down to 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) in order to use them as short spears. The crossbowmen wore metal helmets, brigandines (thick leather jerkins with varying amounts of small pieces of plate armour sewn to them) and possibly chain-mail hauberks . Crossbowmen usually fought from behind pavises  – very large shields with their own bearers, behind each of which three crossbowmen could shelter. A trained crossbowman could shoot his weapon approximately twice

21280-478: The surviving men-at-arms of the first two attacks had rallied to the King, as had many of those from the third division who had not withdrawn with Orléans. Some survivors of the botched third assault also fell back to join the King. These reinforcements probably brought the number of men-at-arms in the division to about 4,000. John's division also had a large but unspecified number of crossbowmen attached to it, and they had been joined by many surviving crossbowmen from

21440-475: The symbol of royalty and the Oriflamme on the battle field. The banner was red or orange-red silk and flown from a gilded lance. According to legend, its colour stemmed from it being dipped in the blood of the recently-beheaded St. Denis . The surviving descriptions of the Oriflamme are in Guillaume le Breton (13th century), in the "Chronicle of Flanders" (14th century), in the "Registra Delphinalia" (1456) and in

21600-434: The town. The French army promptly marched south, as all available forces were concentrated against the Black Prince. Hearing on 28   August that John was marching on Tours and was prepared to give battle, the Black Prince moved his three divisions closer together and ordered them to move towards Tours. He was also willing to fight an open battle , if he could do so under the right circumstances. He still hoped to cross

21760-440: The trio's advisers and bodyguards were perturbed by the intensity of the fighting in their vicinity and forced them to withdraw from the front line to a safer position. Seeing this, the rest of the division, exhausted after two hours fighting and already demoralised by the death of Bourbon and the loss of the Dauphin's standard, withdrew as well. There was no panic and the disengagement was orderly. The senior surviving commanders of

21920-459: The two marshals of France : Arnoul d'Audrehem and Jean de Clermont . The leading French were approximately 500 yards (500 m) from the English. Behind this was a division led jointly by John's 19-year-old son and heir and John's uncle: Charles, the Dauphin, and Peter, Duke of Bourbon , respectively; Charles was experiencing his first taste of war. This formation consisted entirely of dismounted men-at-arms, 4,000 of them. The third division

22080-422: The two armies were now so close that if the French declined to attack, the Anglo-Gascons would find it almost impossible to withdraw. If they attempted to the French would attack, aiming to defeat them in detail , and if they stood their position they would run out of supplies before the French. The Anglo-Gascons had to stay concentrated in the presence of the French army, and several days' hard marching had reduced

22240-459: The untold story of how Roland finds himself at Ronceveaux, betrayed by Ganelon and facing the expansive Saragossan host. Primary characters in the novel include Charles (Charlemagne), Ganelon, Bishop Turpin, Oliver, Aude, Marsilion, Blancandarin and others recognizable from the poem. Introduced in this tale are additional characters that inject intrigue and danger to the story, including Charles oldest son, Pepin, Marsilion's treacherous son, Saleem, and

22400-405: The very least constructed. By supplying it with an appropriate epic title, isolating it from its original codicological context, and providing a general history of minstrel performance in which its pure origin could be located, the early editors presented a 4,002 line poem as sung French epic". Certain lines of the Oxford manuscript end with the letters "AOI". The meaning of this word or annotation

22560-519: The vicinity of the French army so as to persuade it to attack on unfavourable terms, without himself becoming cut off. He was aware that John had been eager to fight Lancaster's force in Normandy in June and anticipated this enthusiasm for battle would continue. Once he had crossed the Loire on 10   September and been reinforced John moved to cut off the Anglo-Gascon line of retreat. Hearing of this, and losing hope that Lancaster would be able to join him,

22720-499: Was also eager to wipe them out in battle and so similarly ignored Talleyrand. The French army continued to march south parallel to the English, rather than moving directly towards them, with the aim of cutting their lines of retreat and supply. On 14   September the English marched 15 miles (24 km) south-west to Châtellerault on the Vienne . At Châtellerault the Black Prince felt there were no geographical barriers against which

22880-409: Was clear that from the summer of 1355 both sides would be committed to full-scale war. In April 1355 Edward   III and his council, with the treasury in an unusually favourable financial position, decided to launch offensives that year in both northern France and Gascony. John attempted to strongly garrison his northern towns and fortifications against the expected descent by Edward   III, at

23040-475: Was equally diminishing The 19th-century poet Robert Southey refers to the Oriflamme and its reputation in his poem Joan of Arc : "Dark-minded man!" The Maid of Orleans answered, "to act well Brings with itself an ample recompense. I have not reared the oriflamme of death — Now God forbid! The banner of the Lord Is this; and, come what will, me it behooves, Mindful of Him whose minister I am, To spare

23200-513: Was extended repeatedly over the years; this did not stop ongoing naval clashes, nor small-scale fighting – which was especially fierce in south-west France  – nor occasional fighting on a larger scale. A treaty to end the war was negotiated at Guînes and signed on 6 April 1354. However, the composition of the inner council of the French king, John   II ( r.  1350–1364 ), changed and sentiment turned against its terms. John decided not to ratify it, and it

23360-461: Was in breach of his obligations as a vassal. This marked the start of the Hundred Years' War , which was to last 116 years. Although Gascony was the cause of the war, Edward   III was able to spare few resources for its defence. In most campaigning seasons the Gascons had to rely on their own resources and had been hard-pressed by the French. Typically the Gascons could field 3,000 to 6,000 men,

23520-514: Was led by John's younger brother, Philip, Duke of Orléans , also inexperienced in war, and was made up of approximately 3,200 men-at-arms. The rearmost division, of 2,000 men-at-arms and an uncertain number of crossbowmen, was commanded by the king himself. The English had slept in or near their defensive positions and just after dawn – which would have been at 5:40 am – the French drew themselves up in battle order with their leading men about 500 yards (500 m) from

23680-504: Was legitimate revenge, not treason. While the council of barons assembled to decide the traitor's fate is initially swayed by this claim, partially out of fear of Ganelon's friend Pinabel who threatens to fight anyone who judges Ganelon guilty, one man, Thierry, argues that because Roland was serving Charlemagne when Ganelon delivered his revenge on him, Ganelon's action constitutes a betrayal. Pinabel challenges Thierry to trial by combat . By divine intervention, Thierry kills Pinabel. By this

23840-434: Was likely an attempt to raise French morale and to rally troops, but there is no evidence that the Oriflamme was then taken on campaign and unfurled at Agincourt. Modern historians agree that the Oriflamme was not carried by Guillaume de Martel at Agincourt, as the king was not present at the battle in person. In the 15th century, the fleur-de-lis on the white flag of Joan of Arc became the new royal standard replacing both

24000-540: Was little French resistance. If a French field army had been in the area, the Anglo-Gascon forces would have had to stay relatively close together, ready to support each other if attacked. The absence of any such French force enabled the Prince's formations to disperse widely to maximise their destructive effect on the French countryside. The main French army remained in Normandy. Despite it being clear that Breteuil could be neither stormed nor starved, John felt unable to abandon its siege as this would undermine his prestige as

24160-500: Was normal for medieval armies to form up in three divisions; having overcome three French divisions, many in the Anglo-Gascon army thought the battle was over. The sight of a further major force, under the royal standard and with the Oriflamme flying, dispirited them. One chronicler reports the Black Prince prayed aloud as this last division approached. The Prince harangued his exhausted men in an attempt to stiffen their morale , but they remained doubtful of their ability to repulse

24320-553: Was not far to the east, on the other side of the Loire, and hoped to join him soon. The Anglo-Gascons prepared for battle and expected the imminent arrival of the French. But John had crossed the Loire at Blois , to the east of Tours, on 10   September, where he was joined by the army of his son John, Count of Poitiers . Meanwhile, the anticipated support from England failed to materialise. In early August an Aragonese galley fleet, which had sailed from Barcelona in April, arrived in

24480-410: Was one of Talleyrand's nephews, Robert of Durazzo , who had accompanied the Cardinal during his negotiations. Douglas either fled to save his life or was badly wounded and carried from the field. Given the heavy French casualties, it is assumed the attack was strongly pressed. As some contemporary sources summarise this phase of the fighting with "the first French division was defeated by the arrows of

24640-554: Was overrun by Anglo-Gascon cavalry. Elsewhere the Anglo-Gascons spread out in a helter-skelter chase. French men-at-arms who failed to reach their horses were captured or, occasionally, killed. Those who did mount were frequently pursued: some were caught and captured, some fought off their pursuers, while most escaped. It was evening before the last Anglo-Gascons returned to their camp with their prisoners. According to different modern sources 2,000 to 3,000 French men-at-arms and either 500 or 800 common soldiers were taken prisoner during

24800-470: Was rapidly persuaded to withdraw the order by his advisers. There was no pursuit of the French survivors of the first attack as they retreated. The English were ordered to hold their positions and to take the opportunity to reform, as the next French division was already moving towards them. This, 4,000 strong, attacked vigorously. The French advanced against the steady fire of the English and Welsh archers, which caused many casualties, and were disordered by

24960-464: Was that they clear away the English archers, while given fire support by their own crossbowmen. However, the archers in Warwick's division were positioned in the edge of a marsh and this terrain prevented the French cavalry from getting to grips with them. The archers in turn found that the French armour and barding prevented them from firing effectively. To get close enough to penetrate the French armour,

25120-464: Was the safety of Poitiers. Its citizens, fearing the Anglo-Gascons, had closed the gates and manned the walls, and refused access. The mounted Anglo-Gascons caught the French soldiers as they milled outside the gate and slaughtered them. The lack of mention of any quarter being offered suggests that the French were common soldiers, rather than men-at-arms whom it would have been financially advantageous to capture in order to hold for ransom. The French camp

25280-459: Was to be followed by peace negotiations or an arranged battle. The Black Prince dismissed Talleyrand and, happy to do battle, but concerned that a two-day delay would leave his army with its back to the Loire in an area with few supplies, marched hard and crossed the River Creuse at La Haye on 13   September, 25 miles (40 km) to the south. John, aware he outnumbered the Anglo-Gascons,

25440-537: Was translated into the Middle High German Rolandslied by Konrad der Pfaffe (formerly thought to have been the author of the Kaiserchronik ). In his translation Konrad replaces French topics with generically Christian ones. The work was translated into Middle Dutch in the 13th century. It was also rendered into Occitan verse in the 14th- or 15th-century poem of Ronsasvals , which incorporates

25600-462: Was turned into the children's picture-story book, with verse narrative, I Paladini de Francia ovvero il tradimento di Gano di Maganz , which translates literally as "The Paladins of France or the treachery of Ganelon of Mainz " (Ugo Mursia Editore, 1962). This was then republished, in English, as Ronald and the Wizard Calico (1969). The Picture Lion paperback edition (William Collins, London, 1973)

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